MADHU AGRAWAL
(Guinness Record Holder for letters in Newspapers)
Recently Union government has banned certain medicines like ‘Pioglitazone’ because of some medical-research having determined such medicines harmful for developing dangerous diseases like cancer. Union and state governments should make people aware about banned medicines through wide-spread media-advertisements because normally patients go on taking course of regular medicines till some new complication is developed. It is unfortunate that while governments spend hard-earned tax-payers’ money on costly multi-page advertisements for their photo-publicity, such aspects needing media-publicity in larger public-interest are grossly ignored.
It should be made mandatory for new-age medical practitioners to issue prescriptions direct from the computer after storing patients’ medical history in their computers. Many medical practitioners especially in lower-income localities give their own-prepared medicinal syrups and powder-capsules without letting patients know about the medicines being administered to them. In emergency-era of 1975-1977, such unhealthy practice was effectively checked by making all medical practitioners to compulsorily maintain record of each patient visiting them and also binding every medical practitioner to compulsorily give a copy of prescription of administered or prescribed medicines even though given by the medical practitioner himself/herself. Such medical discipline should be restored in larger public interest. However old-aged practitioners not aware of computer-technology may be exempted from compulsory issue of computerised medical-prescriptions. System will enable practitioners sending medical-alerts like about banned medicines through e-mail to their regular patients.
It should be made mandatory for all pathological laboratories throughout the country to assign a customer-number to everyone going for medical-tests there. Personal data-record including contact-details and all other available information, if any, like blood-group, medical-insurance, treating physician/surgeon etc of customers should also then be registered in customers’ data-base of computers. System will enable pathological laboratories to maintain past medical history of patients on computers. Such a system will rather add to regular clientele of pathological laboratories, which can offer membership-discounts for their regular customers.
